ABSTRACT
Ultrasound waves are mechanical energy that are transmitted through a medium from repetitive periodic oscillations of a transducer. A B-mode ultrasound image is constructed from echoes generated by reflection of ultrasound from boundaries and scattering from small inhomogeneities within the tissue structures. Ultrasound imaging uses the differences in the acoustic properties of tissues to build a picture of the structures within the body. The ultrasound probe houses the transducer which is constructed from an array of elements and can be arranged in linear, curvilinear or phased array formats. Most modern point-of-care ultrasound devices come with a wide variety of presets which can be selected depending on the anatomy to be scanned: abdominal and vascular. Clinical ultrasound should only be performed when medically indicated and undertaken by properly trained and credentialed sonographers or clinicians. The amplitude of the ultrasound wave that is reflected back into the tissue/organ or transmitted across a tissue/organ boundary is dependent on the change in acoustic impedance.
